Month: April 2018

Thank you for reading my story today. I would love to hear what you think via leave a comment. Today’s story introduces a bit more background for Pah who is in Billy’s Study Group.

Pah, A Young Refugee Meets Abraham in the Refugee Camp

by Matthew Kohrell

The refugee camp was all Pah knew in this life due to his parents fleeing the genocide of his people in Burma when Pah was only 3 years old. He had no memory of Burma, so the camp in Thailand was the only home he knew. His parents tried the best they could to make life decent for him, but living in a hut with no running water or electricity made it hard. Medical care was poor which was why at the age of 18 Pah was by himself. His parents had died of sickness easily taken care of in a place with modern medical care. His eighteenth birthday had arrived and all Pah could think about was his parents were gone. It was hard to believe there could be a future for him even as he went to the community center in the camp for his appointment.

Pah entered and saw a woman sitting at the makeshift desk of a board on top of two chairs. The woman seemed nice enough introducing herself, “My name is Julia. Nice to meet you Pah. I am with Church World Services and am here to help you with the arrangements here to get you on your way to America.”

Pah sat silent for a moment. Thoughts of his parents raced through his mind as well as doubts about starting a new life in America. He shyly spoke up, “Thank you. I do not know what will happen when I arrive to where it is you are sending me. Please tell me more.”

Julia wanted to encourage Pah, “I can understand your feelings Pah. The city is a nice place and someone will be waiting at the airport for you when you arrive. They will take you to the home of your aunt and uncle. That person will also take care of everything for you to get your new life started like taking you to the doctor and getting you into a school. You will taken to the airport tomorrow to leave for your new home. I will be going now Pah, but perhaps we will meet again someday.”

With that Julia left the building and Pah did not see her again before he left. He looked around for her but couldn’t find her. The next morning, Pah was sitting in the community center waiting for his ride to the airport when a man came in and sat down next to him. The man was much older but seemed kind to Pah.

“Hello young man. So you are off to America today. Are you excited?” the man asked.

Pah was hesitant to speak, but forced out, “I am not sure sir.”

The man smiled and stuck out his hand to shake Pah’s hand, “Pah, you do not need to call me sir. My name is Abraham, but you can call me Abe if you like.”

That got Pah’s attention, “How do you know my name?” he asked.

“I know a lot of things about you Pah. You see I am here to talk with you because God loves you and wants you to know he has a reason for you to go to America.” Abe reassured him.

Pah was curious but also still startled by what Abe had just said, “Why would God care about me? I am only a refugee boy.”

Abe’s paternal instincts kicked in, “I understand son. Don’t say you are only a refugee boy. God knows you and sees you. God loves you Pah. It must be hard for you to go by yourself. I know that your parents passed away. In fact I met them after they passed away.”

Pah was shocked, “How could you meet them after they passed away?”

“Because I was in heaven up until fifteen minutes ago. All I can tell you is they are both in a wonderful place. By the way, my name is Abraham. My son is Isaac. I am here to share something with you Pah.” Abe replied ever so calmly.

“I heard about an Abraham in the bible but……” Pah was unsure how to respond.

Abe shared, “I am that Abraham Pah. Pah I understand the feeling of being uncertain about following God when you don’t know anything about where he is leading you. There was a time long ago that God told me to leave the house of my father but God didn’t tell me where to go. He only said go to the land that I will show you. In some ways you have it easier than that. You know someone will take you to the airport and that someone will meet you at the airport where you are going and take you to your aunt and uncle’s home. I had no idea of where God was going to lead me to.”

Pah was really curious now wanting some reassurance God would work things out for him, “So did everything work out okay?”

“That depends on what you mean by okay. For anyone who follows God everything works out okay, better than okay eventually, if not in this life, then for sure in heaven. I made mistakes along the way but God never gave up on me. You can read about my life in a book in the bible, in fact the first one in the bible, Genesis. God was faithful even when I made some poor decisions. Living for Jesus on earth, there are ups and downs, but he is always faithful. It is a life-long journey. Your new life’s journey will begin when you get in the van that will take you to the airport. If you ask him, Jesus will be with you every step of the way and guide you.” Abe explained.

Pah’s spirit began to lighten as worry started to fade about his trip, “Maybe if Jesus wants me in America, my plane ride will be okay. I have never been on a plane before.”

Abe chuckled a bit, “Well it is a lot faster than how we traveled when I lived on earth, but yes, if Jesus wants someone to go somewhere, he will make sure it happens.”

A van pulled up in front of the community center and a friendly British man got out wearing a cap that had Church World Services on the front. He read the list of names for those going to the airport that day. When he saw Pah’s name on the list, he yelled out, “Pah we need to go.”

Pah walked to the van and quickly looked back and noticed Abraham wasn’t there, so he got in the van and quietly prayed to himself, “Jesus please help me get there safe.”

Tuesday afternoon and time for Billy’s study group to meet at The Harbor. His students were making a lot of progress and were close to finishing their GEDs or had finished them which meant talk was beginning to focus on what they wanted to study in college. Jose had grown a lot and had overcome his low-self worth due to the bullying he endured. Pah’s confidence level had risen considerably to the point that he did not think of himself solely as a refugee but now began to see himself as God’s child with a future. Justine came in beaming because she had already started the process of getting enrolled in Nursing College after getting her GED. As a teacher Billy was in tune with his students and felt good about how Jose, Pah and Justine were doing and feeling, but he was concerned about Jessica. Something was up with Jessica that he couldn’t quite put his finger on, but he instinctively knew not to pressure her or it might shut her down. Jessica had thrived in her new environment, but the past still haunted her and dragged her down.

They all got their favorite coffee drinks and sat down to start group. To break the ice, Billy threw out a question, “So what do you see yourselves doing in five years? It’s good to have goals.”

Justine jumped in barely able to contain her joy, “I will be starting Nursing School next term. My hope is to be working in a hospital hopefully in pediatrics.”

Pah shared, “I talked with an adviser at the community college about the computer department. I hope to start there and then transfer to the university.”

Jose was smiling widely, “Well, I have seen how much difference a teacher can make thanks to you helping us Billy. I plan to start at the university in the fall and I want to be an education major. Hopefully in five years I will be in my first year as a high school teacher.”

Jessica was having one of those days that she wished she could just curl up and hide. Occasionally the thought that she was freed from her past was more head knowledge that hadn’t sunk in yet and feelings of despair would come over her and today was just one of those days. She just wanted to sit quietly and secretly wished she could just disappear into one of the big chairs on the other side of the coffee shop.

Billy noticed Jessica was having an off day, “Hey kiddo you don’t have to share. It’s okay we can get started on today’s lesson.”

Jessica reminded herself of a bible verse she loved that she could do all things through Christ who gives us strength and spoke up, “It’s okay Billy. I have a few things on my mind. I have a dream but am not sure if it can happen. My dream is to one day be used by God to reach hurting people. I am not sure how it can happen and the other day a man at church told me that maybe I can’t because…..”

A voice from the table next to them interrupted Jessica before she could finish her sentence, “Remember Jessica that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength.”

They all turned to see who the woman was that broke into their conversation. Jessica realized the woman had just spoken the bible verse that she had reminded herself of a few minutes before. “Who are you? What message do you have for me?” Jessica asked while also recalling her encounter with Mary Magdalene.

The woman came and sat at their table, “My name is Deborah. You can call me Deb if you like and Jessica we need to chat.”

Jessica took a drink of her caramel frappe knowing this was another appointment sent by God and mustered the courage to ask, “What do you want to tell me? We can talk here in front of my friends.”

“Very well,” Deb replied, “Jessica I know about your conversation with Mary Magdalene and how that impacted you and your life. I know that you have experienced many positive changes in your life since then, but another thing I am aware of is that you feel inadequate, am I right?”

Jessica held back the tear that was about to trickle out, “Yes, uhm. You are correct.”

“Well my friend, I am here to talk with you about that. As a woman I understand the feeling of self doubt in a world of men but I know something else too. I experienced first hand how God empowers women and works through women.” Deb encouraged her.

“How did you experience that?” Jessica meekly asked.

“I realize the Old Testament isn’t as popular to read as the New Testament but there are treasures in the Old too. Try reading the Book of Judges chapters 4 and 5 and you will see something you would not have thought possible. God raised me up to guide the people of Israel and we ended up having peace for forty years after that.” Deborah explained.

Jessica looked up Judges 4 and 5 on her bible app and read them. Then she looked up at Deborah, “Wow, so at a time only men were supposed to lead, God worked through you.”

Deborah continued, “Yes, he did work through me, but throughout the history of God’s people whether Israel or the church there have been countless women God has worked through. Think of Mary Magdalene who you met. Jesus delivered her from being an outcast and empowered her even making her the first witness of his resurrection. Jessica I know you have been through ordeals most people cannot fathom, but God is greater than your past. He not only can but will give you the strength to rise up to serve him by reaching out to hurting people.”

Jessica couldn’t hold back, “But I still remember what happened to me. I feel like I have scars. I think I can reach hurting people but I don’t know how with all of scars I have on the inside.”

Deborah took Jessica’s hand to reassure her and looked her in the eyes, “Dear one, someone else has scars and his scars are there to heal your wounds. You know who and what I am talking about.”

“Jesus has scars from when he was crucified, Is that what you are talking about?” Jessica asked.

“Exactly,” Deborah confirmed, “and it is by his wounds we are healed, spiritually, psychologically, and emotionally. He frees people from oppression, darkness and traps in life to live for and with him and then to share him. Jessica God has freed you. You are free. God is with you. If God is for and with you, who can stand against you?”

“I guess no one when you put it that way. It is hard to remember being my size.” Jessica responded.

“Your size is not the issue. It is God’s size that is the issue. How big is God?” Deborah challenged her.

Deborah confirmed, “Yes, he is eternal and has all power. He will guide you step by step Jessica. First step is finish your GED. The second step he will show you soon. As for me, it is time to go back. Goodbye my dear one.” Deborah left the table and was gone.

The group sat there dazed for a few minutes until Billy spoke up with that sparkle in his eyes, “See kiddos, just as I always tell you.”

The group looked at each other rolling their eyes a bit and went back to studying.

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For those of us who profess to be Christians, there is an undeniable truth regarding a part of the birth of our Lord Jesus. It is the fact that Jesus began his earthly life as a refugee along with Mary and Joseph after the angel warned Joseph to flee with Mary and Jesus because Herod’s soldiers were coming to kill the baby Jesus. Jesus spent his first years on earth as a refugee. In honor of that, today’s story is about Joseph the earthly stepfather of Jesus meeting some refugees in the airport on their way to their new city.

Refugee Brothers Meet Joseph at the Airport by Matthew Kohrell

In the chaotic hustle of life God can reach us through divine appointments anywhere such as what happened for some refugees sitting in the Chicago airport. For most people airports represent vacation, trips home, or business trips. As the people rush from gate to gate, airports are not places one would expect to find a meaningful connection with another human being because the passengers are only looking for their connecting flights, trying to grab a quick bite of food, or busy on their smartphones or tablets frantically communicating online. Nevertheless, airports tend to be symbols of excitement for some, and homecomings for others, and just part of the routine for others. Sitting in an airport waiting for a flight to a place, language, and culture one has no familiarity with is an entirely different matter. Such was the case for Hamid and his brother Khudidah and their families waiting for their last flight to a completely unknown city. It was the last leg of their journey after fleeing from the killers that had chased them from their homes. The choice was simple. They could escape and flee to the mountain hoping they would be able to one day relocate or they could stay and face almost certain death. Now four years later, they were on their way to a city in America.

Fortunately Hamid and Khudidah could speak English which helped them as they traveled and they hoped would help them when they reached their final destination.. All they knew was it seemed their new city was in the middle of nowhere but at least it was far far away from the troubles they had fled. While their wives and children slept in the uncomfortable seats at their gate, Hamid and Khudidah talked about what they hoped for their families. They couldn’t sleep more from the stress they felt. Their wives and children could sleep but mostly from the exhaustion of the long journey.

As Hamid and Khudidah were talking, a man came and sat down in the seat across from them. Those hard plastic seats in the Chicago airport were not in a spacious area, so across from them was almost like sitting right in front of them. The man had a newspaper he pretended to read while waiting for a chance to chat with the two brothers.

After he sat down, Hamid continued sharing his concerns with his brother, “My big worry is for the kids and our wives. I have no idea of how things will be there. What are the schools like? Our wives don’t speak English. Will they be okay?”

Khudidah tried to reassure his brother, “Remember what Nasser told us? His kids love the school and the teachers where they go. There are free English classes our wives can go to. Nasser will be waiting for us at the airport there. He said that our housing is taken care of and our apartments will be in the same building his. I really think everything will be okay. And remember the most important thing…”

Hamid interrupted, “Yes, I know. Those evil people are not there.”

Suddenly, the man put his newspaper down, “Pardon my interruption, but if you don’t mind, I would like to chat with you a bit.”

The brothers were surprised that such a well dressed man would want to speak with them. Khudidah being the oldest spoke up, “What do you want to talk about?”

The man replied, “I realize this is a difficult time for you and I just want you to know that I understand what you are going through right now.”

Hamid jumped in, “How could you possibly understand what we have been through and what we have lost?”

The man didn’t hesitate, “I am glad you asked. You see a long time ago I had to flee my homeland with my wife and a new baby boy because men were coming to kill the boy. We had to go the Egypt, but we did not have the help you will receive when you arrive in Lincoln.”

Khudidah responded, “What do you mean the help we will receive? How do you know what the help is?”

The man shared with them, “I know because God has showed it to me. When you arrive at the airport there, your brother Nasser will be there, and so will some American friends of his. You will have apartments for your two families. The school will be ready for your children with wonderful English Language programs. Nasser has been busy to make sure you will have what you need in the apartments. I wish my family and I had had that kind of help when we fled.”

Hamid was curious, “What kind of help did you have?”

The man explained, “Not much really, I was awakened by an angel warning me to take my wife Mary and our infant son Jesus and run to get out of Bethlehem because the king had ordered all male children 2 years of age and under to be killed. We left right away on camels with only the clothes we had with us to go to Egypt not knowing anything except that God wanted us to go.”

Khudidah was curious too, “So who are you?”

The man finally introduced himself, “Oh yes, pardon me. My name is Joseph and I was the earthly stepfather of Jesus.”

Hamid had to know more, “So you are saying your the stepfather of Jesus? Wasn’t he supposed to have been born about like 2,000 years ago? How is it that you are here?”

Joseph look Hamid right in the eye, “God sent me here to talk with you Hamid. God loves you and your family. I am here only for this conversation and then I will return to heaven, but not until I have shared some things with you.”

Khudidah couldn’t believe it, “Did you just get out of the hospital or is this just a joke to have fun with us?”

Joseph reassured them, “This is no joke and I assure you I am quite well. If God had not sent me, how would I know your father and mother were killed by those evil men. How would I know your daughter hopes to see snow so she can make a snowman. There many things God has showed me.”

The two brothers sat for a moment in a stunned silence not knowing what to say or how to respond. The man seemed so kind to them but this all was so strange to them.

“Please let me continue my friends,” Joseph broke the silence, “I know your life has been a nightmare the past four years, and it wasn’t so easy before that either. I know you are from a minority religion and group where you come from. I also know that your people have a history of cooperating with those who call themselves Christians in your home country and that your people and Christians helped each other while being oppressed.”

Hamid spoke up, “So you are trying to make us Christians?’

Joseph replied, “I know you are not ready for that right now even though I wish you could experience the great love Jesus has for you. I shared what I did to let you know that God knows about you and your lives and your people. Also that because Jesus spent the first years of his earthly life as a refugee in Egypt, he understands what you have been through and are feeling.”

Khudidah pressed Joseph, “So that’s all you wanted?”

Joseph wanted to put their minds at ease, “No, I also want you to know that where you are going will be a good place for your families. You and your families will be safe there. I understand you have been through a lot and many changes already, but there will be more changes in the coming months. You will be okay. People will help you. I hope one day you will come to know my stepson Jesus.”

Hamid had to ask, “Why do you keep calling him your stepson?”

“Because God is his father. Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus by the Holy Spirit. It was a miracle birth.” Joseph explained.

Khudidah asked, “So you took Mary and Jesus as your own?”

Joseph let him know, “Yes, I married Mary because I loved her and she had said yes to God’s plan. I accepted Jesus as my stepson to be the protector for both of them. There is much more to the story, but I see it is time for you to board your flight. You will meet others who can explain more for you my friends. Safe travels”

Joseph left and the two brothers looked at each other for a moment not knowing quite what to make of what just happened, but they quickly snapped to it to wake up their wives and children and board the plane. Once on the plane, Hamid looked at Khudidah and said, “I think everything will be okay after all, but maybe we have some things to think about now.”

So my dear reader, how will Hamid’s and Khudidah’s story be in their new country? Please share your ideas.

More importantly, in reality how what the real life stories of refugees be like in their new land? The answer to that question could very well be up to those of us in the places they come to.

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In thinking about rooms in my life and what rooms mean, I wonder what rooms come to mind for my readers. When I think of rooms, to be honest, some rooms evoke pleasant wonderful memories, but some rooms I would prefer to forget and leave millions of miles behind me even though they are etched […]

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This short story is a break from the ones with a setting at The Harbor Coffee Shop. It seemed like a lake was an appropriate place for someone to meet the Apostle Peter.

Hard-working Man Meets Peter While Fishing by Matthew Kohrell

“Ahhh, Sunday afternoon”, Kevin thought to himself. He had found a quiet spot along the lake to do some fishing. Fishing was his favorite way to relax whether he caught a fish or not. For him the idea was to get away for awhile and enjoy the outdoors with no interruptions, no noise, no one asking him for anything. Just him and nature and that was how he loved it. One couldn’t really blame him for wanting some time to himself what with the demands of his construction company, and his young family. It was a fair deal he and his wife agreed to. She gets alone time Saturday afternoons while he takes care of the kids. She can go to the mall, get her nails done, or just meet up with some gal pals. He gets Sunday afternoon to get away for awhile and relax while fishing. So now it was his time for no intrusions in his blissful solitude except today his wife did say something about hoping he would catch bass so they could have fresh fish for dinner. A request he thought would be no problem since he had heard the bass were biting this week.

After a few hours, Kevin still hadn’t caught anything, so he began to think there would be no fresh fish for dinner tonight. He knew his wife wouldn’t be too disappointed but still he wanted to see her smile. He knew she loved to eat fresh fish especially bass. He was trying to decide which lure to use when a man walked up and sat down right next to him. The intruder on his solitude obviously didn’t quite get the unspoken rule in fishing that one simply did not disturb another person while fishing. Nevertheless, the man spoke right up, “Not catching anything yet huh? The fish aren’t biting?”

Kevin wasn’t one to take insults or be patient with rude people. As the owner of a construction company, he could be quite firm when needed and had no problem putting people in their place. “None of your business and by the way this is my spot today.”

The man understood the kind of man Kevin was and also knew he had a purpose in talking with Kevin, so he apologized, “Sorry to bother you. That wasn’t my intention. I will make you a deal. I will cast only a bare hook into the water for one minute. If I don’t catch anything, I will leave you to yourself. But if I catch a good sized fish, I can stay and we chat. How does that sound?”

Kevin was amused by the offer and thought there was nothing to lose, so with a laugh he replied, “Dude, if you think you can catch a fish with only a bare hook, be my guest, but in a few minutes you will be on your way.”

The man cast his bare hook into the water and immediately there was a bit. The man reeled in his line to find a nice 10 pound bass. He took the hook out of the bass’s mouth and dropped it into Kevin’s fish bucket saying, “You can have it for your dinner tonight. Your wife likes bass doesn’t she?”

Kevin was surprised to say the least but being a man of his word, he realized he had to let the man stay and chat. However, talking about his wife was off limits. “Okay, you won the bet. You can stay, but just how do you know about my wife?”

The man responded, “I didn’t mean to offend you. Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Peter. God wanted me to come talk with you and let me know why you are fishing here today. It is your alone time to relax and your wife told you she hoped you would catch some bass.”

Kevin was intrigued now, “You claim God sent you? Can you prove that?”

Peter was quick to respond, “How about this, let’s both cast bare hooks into the water and see if we can both catch a bass of at least 10 pounds.”

As they both cast bare hooks into the water, Kevin thought to himself, “I got him now.”

Less than a minute after they cast their bare hooks into the water they each had caught something. When they pulled their catch in, they saw that each of them had caught a nice sized bass. They were larger than the one Peter had caught a few minutes ago.

Peter spoke up, “Jesus got my attention more than one time when I was fishing. He came up to me one day when I was casting my net, Jesus came up to me and told me to follow him and he would make me a fisher of men. I left my nets to follow him. That was the day I met Jesus. I was fishing at the time.”

Kevin sat there a bit astonished by what was happening, but managed to ask, “That must have been some experience, but what does that have to do with me?”

Peter realized Kevin was hooked now, “Jesus wants you to follow him too Kevin. But first you need to come to him and receive him as your Savior, trust in him and believe that he died for your sins.”

Kevin didn’t know why exactly, but shared, “Yes, I know I need Jesus, but you know I have made a lot of mistakes and I would probably disappoint Jesus.”

Peter saw the timing was right to share more of his story, “I made a huge mistake after I started to follow Jesus. I was always putting my foot in my mouth and it always seemed like I was getting in the way, but the last one was a doozy. Before Jesus was arrested and killed, he told me I would deny him three times before the rooster crowed. Sure enough, that is exactly what I did. Three times I denied him and when the rooster crowed the last time, I knew had done it. I knew Jesus was being put through a kangaroo court false trial and I had abandoned him. John went to the cross to show support for Jesus while he died, but I went into hiding. I don’t think you can do worse than that.”

“Oh my” Kevin responded, “Tough time for you. How did you get past that?”

Peter was glad to share, “It started with fishing too. We had kind of given up and gone back to fishing after Jesus was crucified and resurrected. We didn’t have the full picture yet. One day we hadn’t caught anything and a man was standing on the shore yelling out to ask if we had caught any fish. We said we hadn’t, so he told us to throw our nets on the other side. The nets were so full they were bursting, so we realized it was Jesus. When we got back to shore, we saw that Jesus had breakfast ready for us, fish and bread. While we were eating, Jesus asked me three times if I loved him and each time after I answered yes I loved him, he told me to feed his sheep meaning teach them about him and watch over them. He did this to restore me in front of the other disciples.Jesus can take men like us Kevin, ordinary hard-working men, and do his work through us. You just need to decide if you will follow him or not.”

Kevin took a breath, “This is certainly not what I expected when you first came over here, but you know what, I do want to follow Jesus.”

Peter smiled, “Wonderful. Before I go, let’s each cast our bare hooks again.” They cast their hooks into the water and each of them caught a bass bigger than the other ones.

Peter grinned, “Great. Now your family can have a fish dinner. I need to go my friend. Be sure to call the pastor of the church you and your wife visited this morning for Easter. He can help you learn more.”

With that Peter walked away but to Kevin’s surprise, Peter walked over the water until he disappeared.

Kevin sat watching until Peter was gone. He pulled out his cell phone and called his wife, “Honey we certainly have fish, but when I get home, we need to talk.”

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Not a story today, just wanted to share that I am excited that my Love Justice Hat came in the mail Saturday.

Why does a hat excite me? Because of the work Love Justice does. Love Justice intercepts children and young women who are victims of human trafficking/sex trafficking. Love Justice doesn’t just intercept and rescue the victims, Love Justice also has several group homes for the victims because many cannot go back to their families. The victims become not only survivors, but thrivers in a home where they are loved and cared for by Christian house parents who dedicate their lives to raising and caring for the ones who cannot go back ‘home’.

Sex trafficking/Human Trafficking is among the most hideous crimes. I think of what Jesus said when he said it is better for someone who has harmed a child to have a millstone tied around the neck and cast into the lake than to face him on judgement day. I also think of how he told his disciples not to keep the children away from him because he cares for them and then he blessed them. Surely Jesus wants us to rise up against the trafficking of children.

On Saturday I wore my hat while I was writing my next story about a man meeting Peter while he was fishing. I will post the story tomorrow.

I feel blessed to support Love Justice even in small ways like buying a hat. I am not rich, but gladly donate what I can.. If you would like to know more about Love Justice and the work they are doing, you can click on this link- https://www.lovejustice.ngo/

Thank you for reading my stories and THANK YOU for reading this posting about Love Justice. Please pray for them and their homes today.